Kobe Bryant's Achilles injury sent shock waves through the basketball world on Friday night, and with good reason. It isn't just that Kobe is one of the greatest players in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer who was dragging a depleted Los Angeles Lakers team into the playoffs at age 34. It also says a lot about his influence and impact on the league as a whole. Many younger players were small children when Kobe, now in his 17th pro season, was drafted in 1996. Most of them grew up idolizing him the way he idolized Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Many current players patterned their games after his. So it goes without saying that lots of NBA players had strong reactions to his injury, and many of them took to Twitter to offer prayers, support, and encouragement to the Black Mamba. Here's a round-up of players' reactions to the injury.

Several of Kobe's teammates from the London Olympics weighed in:

Damn man i feel bad for @kobebryant . If there's anybody and i mean anybody who can come back from that injury it would be him! Best wishes!